Black and Green Flowers
by WickedTheaterGirl
Summary: An AU beginning after Popular. Elphaba and Fiyero grow close, but events soon set in motion shift the winds of change. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

**I know I know. I should be finishing up "Fiyero's Journal," but for some reason, I lost that story when school started last year and I never got it back. But this story is going to have similarties with "Fiyero's Journal." I am however, changing some things about Fiyero and his people, and there are some minor changes to Oz's geographry. In this story, the Thousand Year Grasslands are on a high steppe, or very large plateau. Fiyero and his people have a Northeast Asian appearence.**

**Chapter 1: A New Look**

"Hey Elphie!" A girl with long curly brown hair called down the hall at Elphaba, who shyly waved back at the girl, who she had never scene before in her life. It was half-way through Thursday and that girl had been the sixth person to call "Elphie" that she had never met in her life. Before today, all Elphaba would of gotten called was "green bean" or "steamed artichoke."

_But I guess when Galinda Upland pronounces you as her friend, no one dares say anything bad or mean to you again. _Elphaba though. That seamed correct, since Galinda was one of the most popular girls at Shiz University right now, no one dared insult her or anyone she was close to. At least anyone from high society, and that girl, who had a jeweled barrette in her hair, was defiantly high society.

Elphaba tugged at the collar of the white blouse she was wearing over her navy blue frock. The blouse had been a present from Galinda last night, and although it was nice, it was also very hot.

_How do Gillikins manage to wear this fabric at the end of summer? _But then again, as long as it was fashionable, Gillikins would wear just about anything.

Elphaba then yanked at her long black hair, which now fell freely down to her waist. Although she would not admit it out loud, she was surprised how nice it felt to not have her hair in a tight braid pulling at her scalp. She also could not admit that she did think that the pink flower that Galinda had inserted into her hair last night did add something to her look, which, with her hair down, was not a bad look at all.

"Hey Elphie!" Yet another calling of that name from a person who she knew not at all. Elphaba was grateful that her 4th period History class with her favorite teacher Dr. Dillamond, was right around the corner.

_How will Dillamond react to this new look?_ There was no time to wonder though. By the time she had finished wondering that thought, she was in the classroom with its wide chalkboard and old posters hanging from the ceiling. Walking into the room, she pulled at her hair once again.

_What was that trick again? What was it that Galinda taught me? _It was the how to toss hair one. Right. Well, what the hell Elphaba thought to her self. Pulling a few sections of her hair to the front of her shoulder, she practiced the motions Galinda had shown her the night before. With as much strength as she thought was needed, she tossed it across to her back, her arms swinging out, when suddenly, her hand hit something, or someone.

"Ugh!" Elphaba swung around, finishing her toss and, coming face to face with Fiyero Tiggular, the Arjiki prince who was Galinda's boyfriend, and who was clutching one side of his face, where Elphaba had hit him.

"I am so, so sorry! Are you okay?" Fiyero stared at her for a moment with his beautiful dark brown eyes, but then spoke.

"I'm fine. Just fine. Are you okay?"

"Yes I am okay. What are you staring at?" Elphaba was staring at Fiyero herself. He looked so different now that he was in a Shiz uniform.

"Well, I guess you have been uh… "Galinda-fied. You really don't have to do that you know." His tone took Elphaba by surprise. He seamed so gentle, not like the Fiyero she had scene last night at the OzDust ballroom. She opened her mouth to say something, but at that moment Dr. Dillamond the Goat walked in the room. Elphaba quickly sat down at her usual spot on one of the benches, and quickly yanked the flower out of her hair and shoved it in her shoulder bag. Why was she letting what Fiyero had said affect what she did? Elphaba quickly glanced over at Fiyero, who began looking at her in a funny way.

"Alright, take you seats class." Dr Dillamond's voice broke though their stare. "I have something to say and very little time to say it. This is my last day here at Shiz, for I am no longer permitted to teach."

"WHAT!" Elphaba exclaimed! What was going on?

"Please Miss Elphaba sit down." Dillamond gently indicated her spot next to Fiyero. "I would like to thank you all for sharing with me your enthusiasm, your essays, no matter how feebly structured, and even on occasion, your lunch."

Elphaba could not believe a word of what he was telling them about not being _permitted _to teach anymore, what in the world was going on in Oz!

"Oh Doctor, I am so terribly sorry about all of this." Madam Morrible, Shiz's elderly headmistress suddenly came in the room, followed by two guards wearing gray coats and a spooky man with a cart. Although Dillamond had told her to take her seat, Elphaba could not stand this anymore, she jumped up as fast as she could.

"Madam! You cannot permit this!" Elphaba cried as loudly as she could. But Madam Morrible did not seem moved at all.

"Miss Elphaba, don't you worry about me." Dr. Dillamond assured her. "They can take away my job, but I will continue to speak out."

"Come on goat!" The two creepy men in long gray coats took Dillamond roughly, like a prison guard would take a prisoner back to their cell.

"You're not being told the whole story, remember that class!" Dillamond cried out before he was out of hearing distance.

"Dr. Dillamond!" Elphaba ran to the door, then tuned to the rest of the class, who were all still in their seats, all except Fiyero, who had stood-up, but not moved. Elphaba felt her temperature rise as well as her temper. "So.." She stared at the class members one by one. "…are we all going to sit hear…in silence!"

"I'm afraid there is nothing else we can do, now please take your seat." Morrible words might have meant to be comforting, but they offered none of that to Elphaba, who slumped back down in her seat.

_How can people just sit here and do nothing? What is happening to the world? The Wizard must be told! _

"Good afternoon, students! More and more every day, with every tick of the Time Dragon Clock, in every corner of our great Oz, one hears the silence of progress. For example: this is called a cage!"

The professor then pulled the a sheet off a item on the cart, revealing an all-sided metal-framed wire box that had a young Lion cub, no more than a few months old, shivering in it! Elphaba gasped.

_What in the devil is he doing bringing in that poor little thing! He's so young and so scared! Why is Madam Morrible permitting this! _Elphaba glanced over at Madam Morrible, who was standing to the side, watching the professor.

"We are going to be seeing more and more of these in the future." The professor continued, and everybody in the class had their eyes fixed on him. "This remarkable innovation is actually for the Animal's own good."

_The Animal's own good! He is crazy! _Elphaba leaped out of her seat.

"If it is for his own good then why is he trembling?" It was true. The poor little Lion was terrified out of his mind. He was trembling from head to tail and his eyes kept darting from place to place. He clearly had no clue what was going on or what he was doing there.

"Oh, he's jut excited to be here, that's all." The professor then rapped the cage with his pointed, which caused the Lion cub to cry out in terror. Elphaba gasped. "That's right, gather round now students." Elphaba was hoping that no one would go up to the cage, but she was wrong. Everyone was soon up near the cage, gathering around it like a flock of birds around a bird feeder. Everyone that is except for Fiyero, who was still planted on the bench.

_Well, at least he cares a little for others than himself._ Elphaba though to herself. At least he was kind enough not to move up to that horrid thing called a cage.

"Can you image a world where Animals are kept in cages…and…they never speak?" She blurted the question to Fiyero, but he did not respond. He just stared at Elphaba, as if wondering what she was asking. By the cage, the professor continued his lesson.

"He does seam a bit agitated, but that is easily cured." As he spoke he pulled out a large injection needle that was filled with a yellow liquid. Elphaba gasped again and began panicking. She ran over to Fiyero once again, who had still not made a move towards the cage.

"What are we going to do?"

"We?" Fiyero seamed puzzled. He did not want to get involved in the problem.

"Well…somebody has to…do SOMETHING!" Elphaba screamed as loudly as she could, feeling a wave of anger, and powers come whooshing out of her. Sparks suddenly flew from the cart the cage was on. Like they had all been shocked, all the students and Morrible and the professor jumped back and began moving in very unnatural and uncomfortable positions. Everyone that is—except for Fiyero, who ran over to Elphaba.

"What's happening?!" He looked as confused as Elphaba.

"I don't know. I got mad and…" A few more sudden movements from the class interrupted her.

_I should just remove myself from Shiz. I am going to get expelled for this anyway, _Elphaba though glumly to herself.

"Alright, just don't move!" Fiyero dashed up to the Lion cub cage and then turned back to Elphaba. "And don't get mad at me."

_I'm not mad at him. _

Fiyero now had the cage in his hands, and, to Elphaba's shock, was running to the door.

**There we go? How did I do? Minor flames are okay, as is constructive critisisms. Please review, as it helps me in my writting.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A huge thank you to all of you who reviewed! Please keep doing it! I did some changing to the story in this chapter.**

**Chapter 2**

It took a moment for Elphaba to comprenhend the situation, so she jut stood there for a moment, stuck in though about what she had just done. Everybody was screaming as they could not control what they were doing.

Fiyero's voice suddenly broke though her thoughts. He was standing by the doorway, the lion cage in his hands.

"Well, are you coming?" He then ran out. Elphaba, with not other choice, followed him, leaving everyone else in the room to scream. The halls of the history building were easy to run though, as none of the other classes had gotten out yet.

Fiyero, maybe he was shallowed and self-absorbed, but he could run. Even with the Lion cub in his cage in his hands, the speed with which he could run was faster then anyone Elphaba had scene.

Almost all classes were in session, so running though the grounds of Shiz and making their way to the outmost part of the campus, was not hard and attracted few eyes. Fiyero finally stopped running near a poppy field under an old bridge. He seamed to be hardly panting, but seamed to of forgotten about the Lion, since he was shaking the cage.

"Careful!" Elphaba scream at him, grabbing the cage from his hands. "Don't shake him!"

"I'm not!" Fiyero protsted at her. Elphaba ignored him and gently set the cage on the ground.

"We can't just let him loose anywhere you know. We have to find someplace safe." This was not exactly the safest place. They were sill inside the boundries of Shiz. Didn't Fiyero know that?

"I relieze that?" Maybe he did. "You think I'm really stupid don't you?"

_No. Well, maybe a little bit,_ Elphaba thought to herself.

"No. Not _really_ stupid." Not the best thing to say at all. Fiyero had shown that he did have care for other things then himself.

"Why is it every time I see you your causing some type of commotion?"

"I don't cause commotions I _am_ one!"

"That's for sure." He spoke under his breath, but Elphaba, caught off-guard by the comment, whirled around and faced Fiyero, looking him in the eye.

"Oh, so you think I should just keep my mouth shut it that what your saying? Do you think I want to be this way?! Do you think I want to care this much?! You don't think I know how easier my life would be if I didn't?!"

"Do you ever let anyone else talk?!" Fiyero had been trying to speak for the past few moments during her long ramble, but he said that line with enough direct force and voice that Elphaba stopped her ramble.

"Oh, sure?" She backed up to the cage. Fiyero moved closer to her, but just as he began to open his mouth, another thought suddenly hit Elphaba, and she could not hold it in.

"Can I just say one more thing?" Fiyero rolled his eyes but backed off, looking very annoyed.

"You could of walked away back there." He gave her a funny look.

"So?"

"So no matter how shallow and self-absorbed you pretend to be you do…" But Fiyero quickly cut her off.

"Whoa! There is no pretence here!" He pointed boldly at himself. "I happen to be genuinely self-absorbed and deeply shallow!" He straighted his stance and posture, but it was clearly an act.

"No, your not. Or else you would not be so unhappy." Fiyero dryly let out a small laugh and began walking backwards, away from Elphaba.

"Fine, if you don't want my help…" No. Elphaba did want his help. She didn't want him to leave, so she ran up to him.

"No, I do…" But as soon as she grabbed his hand, he stopped and looked at her. Elphaba felt a feeling come over her body. But what was it? Was it the cool touch of his hand? The way his light brown eyes looked at her. The look on his round, pale face that she could not describe? The moaning of the Lion cub suddenly broke though the silence eerie silence, and she let go of Fiyero's hand and ran back to the cage.

Reaching in, she gently petted the Lion on his back. Glancing back over at Fiyero, she felt that feeling come over her again. He was just standing there. Looking at his left hand, the hand she had grabbed. She quickly turned her attention back to the Lion.

"His heart is pounding. I didn't mean to frighten him." She was talking to herself, and did not realize that Fiyero had come over.

"What did you mean to do?" Elphaba kept her gaze away as he spoke. "And, why was I the only one you didn't do it to?" He was know kneeling next to the cage, and Elphaba could sense how focused his eyes were on her. Pulling her head up and looking at him for a moment, she noticed a red scratch on left cheek.

"Your, bleeding." Fiyero just stared at her.

"I am?"

"It must have scratched you?" It wasn't possible though. The cub had been in the cage the whole time.

"Yeah or maybe it scratched me or something." Now he was being very stupid. Suddenly he pulled away from her and quickly stood up. Without even realizing it, Elphaba had reached up with her hand and had touched him on his face where the cut was.

"Well, I better get to safety. I mean the cub." He moved towards the cage, trying to avoid Elphaba, who quickly got up.

"Right." He was smart enough to release the cub in a safe place.

"Get the cub to safety." He picked up the cage and bumped into Elphaba once again. She tried to move out of the way, but he only moved the way she did. She moved the other way and he moved that way. The cage was the only thing in between them.

Fiyero then broke free of the situation, running back towards Shiz for a moment before turning around and running the other way.

As he disappeared from her view, Elphaba felt as though something was leaving her. She called out his name, but either he was out of hearing range, or he did not care. Elphaba herself was actually hoping the latter was true.

Why? Why was she doing this?! She was letting herself fall in love! And not just in love with anybody, with a prince! A prince who also happened to be her roommate's boyfriend! This was not happening!

There was no way in Oz or hell that he could have been feeling the same way for her. He is a prince, and had Glinda Upland as a girlfriend.

"I'm not that girl" Elphaba sang gently to herself. "Don't dream too far. Don't loose sight of who you are. Don't remember that rush of joy. I'm not that girl." Glinda, however, was that girl. Carefree, dreamy, joyful, good-looking and rich, like Fiyero.

Elphaba looked down again at her green hands and tugged at her long, stick-straight, black hair. She knew she was ugly. Fiyero deserved so much better then the green artichoke she was. Glinda was the one he deserved.

"Blithe smile, lithe lime, gold hair with a gentle curl. That's the girl he chose, and heaven knows—I'm not that girl" Elphaba sang again quietly to herself. Glancing up at the sky, which was filling with dark rain clouds, she caught site of Fiyero and Glinda on the bridge. Dashing under it, she kept her gaze down as it started to rain. She heard their footsteps begin to move away. She moved out from under the bridge and caught Fiyero's eye, who stared down at her, before running to Glinda.

Elphaba was letting herself wish and dream for Fiyero. That was wrong. She knew that wishing for something one could not have would only wound the heart.

She stood there for a few moments before suddenly Madam Morrible appeared from the fields with an umbrella. She did not appear shaken at all, but had a huge smile on her face.

"Oh Elphaba, there you are!" She handed the umbrella to Elphaba.

"My dear, I have fantastic news!" Elphaba had not heard her this excited since the incident on the first day of school, when Elphaba's anger had caused another commotion that had gotten her into Morrible's sorcery program. "I have finally heard back from the Wizard! And my dear, he wishes to meet you!"

Elphaba could not believe what she was hearing! The Wonderful Wizard of Oz wanted to meet her! "The Wizard?!" she gasped.

"I know how distress you are over Dr. Dillamond, but my dear, as one door closes…" as she spoke, she reached into her chest pocket and pulled out a large, emerald green envelope with a gold seal. "…another opens." Elphaba grabbed the letter and stared at it for a moment, marveling at the gold wax which bore the Wizard's stamp.

"Oh Madam Morrible! How can I ever thank you?" Elphaba flung her arms around the woman, giving her a big hug. Morrible hugged her back, but quickly pushed the umbrella back over Elphaba's head.

"Careful my dear, you must not get wet." It was true. Elphaba hated the water. She had hated water since she was a baby. She just did not know why. She hated to even drink water.

"The Wizard as you know, is a very busy man. He also would hate to drag you away from your important studies, so you'll go to the Emerald City four weeks from today."

Four weeks! Elphaba did not think she could wait that long!

"Now come on my dear, you should be back in class." Morrible then walked away. Elphaba followed her, but could not help thinking about what was to come: meeting the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

**There you go. Chapter Two. Chapter Three should be up in the next few days, so please read and review!**


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